Digitalis Purpurea

Nutrition

Photosynthesis

Plants are actually a phenomenal organism. To acquire
nutrients and energy, humans have to consume other organisms.
However, plants, like the common foxglove, can create their own food by
using sunlight to power the synthesis of organic substances.
This makes them autotrophs, which means "self-feeder." The only
nutrients that they need are water, minerals that the obtain
from the soil, and carbon dioxide that they obtain from the air.
During photosynthesis, plants convert light energy from the sun,
to chemical energy of food. The site where this complex process
occurs are chloroplasts, which contain chlorophyll. This
chlorophyll is what is responsible for the green pigment in
plants. Go to these to learn about some other
extraordinary plants
Hoodia gordonii,
Hypericum perforatum, and
Pongamia pinnata.

In other words, six carbon dioxide molecules plus
six water molecules plus sunlight creates a molecule of glucose as
well as the oxygen that the plant gives off.

However, how does this process happen? Basically
there are two separate processes that occur during photosynthesis
with many reactants, intermediates, and products. The first process
is the Light Dependent Reactions. During this reaction, light energy
is used to split water, which provide electrons and protons, and
releases oxygen as a by product. The light is then absorbed by the
chlorophyll. It is here where the two high energy compounds ATP and
NADPH are made by transferring the electrons and hydrogen ions from
the water to the electron acceptors, ADP and NADP+. The next process
is the Calvin Cycle, also referred to as the Carbon Dioxide Fixation
Cycle. During this cycle, carbon from the atmosphere is fixed,
meaning it is incorporated with other organic molecules that are
already in the chloroplast. Then, electrons from ATP and NADPH are
added to reduce the fixed carbon into carbohydrate. The final
products of this process are sugars (carbohydrates) as well as other
organic compounds. Furthermore, these two processes are dependent on
each other. Below is a illustration of these processes.

Resource Acquisition and Transportation

Another question that might arise after reading about how plants
make their food is how plants transport the food they just made and
how do they acquire and transport water and other nutrients. A
plant's roots are responsible for acquiring water from the soil as
well as other resources like nitrogen and phosphorus. Then, the
resources are transported to other parts of the plant using phloem
and the water is transported to the rest of the plant using xylem.
The food that the plants created with photosynthesis is also
transported to the rest of the plant by the phloem. This process is
called translocation.

Next to learn more about how Digitalis purpurea reproduce
go to Reproduction.